USMCRECON Posted January 17, 2008 Share #26 Posted January 17, 2008 This one has been touched on in some other threads, but I thought it was time the US Marine Corp's Gomer Pyle shirt got its own thread. Basically this is an olive drab cotton sateen shirt introduced in 1958. It had covered buttons, a gas flap, and a large inside map pocket with a vertical opening. There was a similar shirt in HBT before this, sometimes called the M1956 shirt. The shirt - which I have seen called a P1958, M1958, M58, and plain " Marine Corps Utility Shirt" - gets its nickname because it was worn on the Gomer Pyle USMC TV program which first aired from 1964 to 1967, starring Jim Nabors in a spinoff from the Andy Griffith Show. Here's a couple of the real thing: Here's the shirt unbuttoned. That single button on the right is for the inside pocket: Here's a label, this one stamped 19 DECEMBER 1958. This is stamped inside, behind the left breast pocket. The size is stamped in the collar. I've seen seven or eight of these shirts in the last two years and maybe one of them had labels you could read. In about 1964 the Marines started using the same kind of OD cotton sateen uniform as the Army but the Gomer Pyle shirts continued to be worn by Marines who had them. I have a couple that appear to have been used up until the Marine retired in the early 70's. There are also Gomer Pyle trousers, which have no flaps on the back pockets. When I came back from Vietnam, I had nothing but jungle utilities since my regular issue Marine utilities disintegrated fairly early in my Vietnam tour. I liked this style of utilities and when I arrived at Camp Lejeune, I bought two complete sets of these at a Jacksonville NC surplus shop and I wore them until my discharge in Sep 68. As I remember, while they were still authorized for wear, you couldn't mix and match. The ones seen around in 1968 were not HBT but the material was still of a slightly different style and color than the newer ones and you had to wear both shirt and trousers of the same style. You are right; there was no flap on the back pocket on the trousers and, as I remember, there was only one (don't remember which side it was on). I much favored these over the issued ones and still have one in my seabag, though it couldn't be worn because it's coming apart from the years of storage. Also, like all of my old Marine uniforms, it seems to have badly shrunk during the years in my seabag because none of it fits me anymore! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_pickrall Posted January 17, 2008 Share #27 Posted January 17, 2008 Those pants looked very much like the P41 pants except for that button. It was on the left pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nguoi tien su Posted January 17, 2008 Share #28 Posted January 17, 2008 The HBT pattern shirt is an M1953. Look here at post # 9. I am very surprised!? For me the HBT was also the M1956 and the OD M1958. NTS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Meatcan Posted January 17, 2008 Share #29 Posted January 17, 2008 Shazaaam, Sgt Carter! Those are some nice shirts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmc-collector Posted August 5, 2008 Share #30 Posted August 5, 2008 latest arrival into my collection. P1958 trousers, unused, size 38x32, dated 1961 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted November 19, 2008 Author Share #31 Posted November 19, 2008 Found this in the new Life Magazine photo archive on Google. It's a US Marine in Taiwan in 1958: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collector Posted November 20, 2008 Share #32 Posted November 20, 2008 I have a book called VIETNAM: US UNIFORMS in COLOR by Kevin Lyles on page 16 they show a US MARINE officer circa 1965 wearing the same uniform The Marines M1958 Cotton-Sateen Utility Uniform was unique to the Corps, and was obsolete by 1965, having been replaced by the Army's OG 107 utility uniform, some career officers and senior NCO's within the Corps, however, continued to wear the older uniform, though it would disappear entirely by the end of that year. a 1956 version of this uniform was made in herringbone twill [HBT] material, and though occaisonally seen, was even rarer than the sateen set. I have the HBT version and it has the solid EGA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cong An Phap Posted November 22, 2008 Share #33 Posted November 22, 2008 Hello, this is a part of my collection. Here the name tapes are typically early Vietnam. One of the shirts has been modified with a "short timer" tape. CAP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cong An Phap Posted November 22, 2008 Share #34 Posted November 22, 2008 Name tape:black letters and dark background Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cong An Phap Posted November 22, 2008 Share #35 Posted November 22, 2008 Shirt in HBT, with cream name tape and brownish letters. CAP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cong An Phap Posted November 22, 2008 Share #36 Posted November 22, 2008 Short timer local made name tape and pocket embroidery. It belonged to T.K.JENKINS, and was worn that way at the end of his tour circa 65. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagdpanzer Posted January 4, 2011 Share #37 Posted January 4, 2011 I am reading about USMC utilities shirts and find this old post. In www.vietnamgear.com there are a P57 (denomination of Marine Corps Museum) sateen dated in 1956, the markings is completely different to the other that I saw, I think the shirt in the photos could be an experimental uniform...or maybe the correct name for the uniform will be P56.... http://www.vietnamgear.com/kit.aspx?kit=632 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMI88 Posted January 8, 2011 Share #38 Posted January 8, 2011 Here the name tapes are typically early Vietnam. I don't doubt that these shirts were used in Vietnam on occasion, but I believe most of the examples of theater-made nametapes on them are from Okinawa. I base this on a discussion with a retired Marine who served both on Okinawa and in Vietnam; he clearly remembered the nametapes as being from Okinawa. I also have some of these shirts and a field jacket with similar nametapes from a Marine who served on Okinawa in the late 1950s-early 1960s, but never served in Vietnam. Again, no doubt some of the shirts were used in Vietnam and maybe even some of the nametapes were made there, but I think this is the exception rather than the rule. If anyone has examples of nametapes that show characteristics of being made in Vietnam I'd be very interested in seeing them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagdpanzer Posted January 10, 2011 Share #39 Posted January 10, 2011 Was these nametapes used only by the marines based in Okinawa prior to Vietnam? or was common to all Marine Corps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share #40 Posted January 31, 2017 Here's a great Gomer Pyle uniform that came direct from the Marine who wore it to Vietnam (I actually got four such uniforms but only one pair of boots and one or two sateen covers). Everything here is pretty much 1958 issue. The covered is marked size XL boots in great condition These trousers are very hard to find Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desertrat Posted March 31, 2017 Share #41 Posted March 31, 2017 I just found this thread, so I figured I would post my only USMC uniform, A P57 HBT.. It belonged to my HS Assistant Principal, Tom Morris. Name tag but no EGA... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmanton Posted March 31, 2017 Share #42 Posted March 31, 2017 I was issued this type uniform in May 55 when I entered boot camp. I don't remember it being HBT though. I can post some pictures out of the boot camp platoon boot if I can find it. Paul Salome, AZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmanton Posted March 31, 2017 Share #43 Posted March 31, 2017 Here's a page scanned out of my Plt 232 book Summer 55 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graffspee Posted May 15, 2017 Share #44 Posted May 15, 2017 Here is USMC P1958 Sateen set I just obtained. Its heavily starched.I like the style of the name tape. The bad part is that the Utility Cover is torn down the center of the bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted May 15, 2017 Author Share #45 Posted May 15, 2017 The bad part is that the Utility Cover is torn down the center of the bill. Most of the Marine OD caps have cracked bills: they were made of a cardboard that becomes very brittle and crack and that tears the fabric. I've had multiple caps like this that had never been worn but still had cracked bills. Yours at least is balanced in the center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louie Posted May 20, 2017 Share #46 Posted May 20, 2017 I am almost positive those name tapes were only used in Okinawa. I never saw them here stateside. We all still used that cheesy stencil that we had to put together from a kit. These were issued in boot camp. Even in 1970 I still some Gomer Pyle type shirts, mostly on NCO's. Again the Marine Corps will issue stuff until they run out, or it's falling apart. We still had many brown 1911 holsters in our supply system. I pulled a shinola detail, and was given show dye, black, to dye all the holsters. They didn't care if you dyed the backside, but only the front. Overseas there was a lot of new stuff, but here they just kept using up all the old stuff. Most of us also had m51 field jackets, not the nicer m65's with the hood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted May 20, 2017 Author Share #47 Posted May 20, 2017 I just found this thread, so I figured I would post my only USMC uniform, A P57 HBT.. It belonged to my HS Assistant Principal, Tom Morris. Name tag but no EGA... That was the last Marine HBT pattern and other the cloth type, it was the same design as the OD cotton sateen Gomer Pyle shirt. I have seen more than one photo from the 60's showing someone mixing HBT and OD, usually very senior officers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kammo-man Posted May 20, 2017 Share #48 Posted May 20, 2017 Short timer local made name tape and pocket embroidery. It belonged to T.K.JENKINS, and was worn that way at the end of his tour circa 65. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintageproductions Posted May 20, 2017 Share #49 Posted May 20, 2017 Owen, don't you have all his other uniforms? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripcord Posted May 24, 2018 Share #50 Posted May 24, 2018 I have my USMC name tapes made on Okinawa in 1963. Can post a photo if any interest. Made of the old hbt material as I recall ( buried in my sea-bag for a long time). They rapidly faded to almost white in a very short time. Definitely NOT authorized state-side......I was early-outed upon return to CONUS in June '64 and was told immediately to remove them at MCRD San Diego....never mind I was being discharged in a week. That's my Corps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now